A Mother's Advice
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Mrs. Goodall doesn't know the first thing about being a mother. Fortunately, Mrs. Moran's got it mastered.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made._

_Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:_

_**No To Date Nights - The Party Night - Project Partners - Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks - **__**Prom Night**__ - __**A Trip To Remember - First Meetings - Something She Loves – Protective Morans – Samurai In Harwood County – Rainy Days – Luck Had Nothing To Do With It – Ranger Support – Parents and Children – Hero Without The Spandex – Emma's Night – Emma's Mother – Bait And Switch – After Death – A Stormy Day – A Date For Tensou**_

Mrs. Goodall came down the stairs with a full bowl of cereal in her hands. Though she was getting nowhere with her daughter, she still had to stay at the Moran house for her best friend. Mrs. Moran and her husband had been in love since the day they met, and they had been almost inseparable since. It had always been obvious that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. No one expected forever to be such a short amount of time.

She backed off from Emma and kept her focus on Mrs. Moran and the house. She cooked, she cleaned, and when she really had to, she looked after the girls. Usually those times were only when Mrs. Moran needed to be by herself for some time and didn't want to be disturbed or didn't want the girls to see her cry.

This morning, just like the last, Gia hadn't come down for breakfast, claiming she felt sick. Mrs. Goodall made her a little cereal and had gone upstairs to try and convince her to eat, but Gia wouldn't speak. This didn't surprise her at all. Mrs. Goodall had a hard enough time getting anything meaningful out of Emma, her own daughter. She didn't expect Gia to want anything to do with her. Still, she tried because she didn't want to see the poor girl get sicker.

But like her father, Gia was stubborn, and Mrs. Goodall had to call it quits. She dumped the cereal down the sink and sighed.

"Gia doesn't eat much when she's sick," Emma said. Mrs. Goodall turned around and saw her daughter at the table with some toast. Just toast. "This is good for her, though. Just leave it by her bed."

"Thanks, Emma," Mrs. Goodall smiled and took the plate. Emma went back to reading the newspaper. It wasn't something Mrs. Goodall remembered Emma doing at all. Fortunately, this was something new Emma picked up. Every day, Mr. Moran would sit at the table and read the paper. When he died, Emma had taken it upon herself to stay informed.

Mrs. Goodall climbed the stairs once again. She was sure Gia didn't want to see her, but Emma was eating breakfast and Mrs. Moran was still sleeping in the living room. Someone had to look out for Gia.

"Me again," Mrs. Goodall said when she walked in. She set the toast down beside Gia's bed and put her hand on Gia's forehead. Gia rolled away. "I'm just checking your temperature."

Mrs. Goodall put her hand on Gia's forehead again then sighed, "No fever. So what's up?"

Gia sat up and scoffed, "Oh, right, like I'm going to talk to you about anything."

"I know you don't like me, Gia."

"So then get out."

"What's wrong?"

"You can't do this, you know," Gia shook her head. "You can't walk out on Emma's life, leave her behind completely, and then come back here and pretend like there's nothing wrong between you and her. Or us for that matter. You and I are not friends. We're not talking."

"So something is bothering you, then?" Mrs. Goodall asked. Gia looked surprised for a moment before she lay back in bed, pulled the blankets over her head and the coughed. Mrs. Goodall knew it was a fake.

"Nice try. What's wrong? I'm not leaving here until you tell me. Just the basics, Gia, so I know not to call an ambulance. You haven't eaten since yesterday."

"I'll talk to mom."

"She's sleeping."

"I'll talk to mom," Gia peeked out from under the blankets, "And only mom. Get out."

Mrs. Goodall sighed. She reminded Gia of the toast before leaving the room. She went back downstairs and saw Emma by the door with her bag and helmet.

"Where are you going?"

"BMX."

"Can I come with you?"

Emma turned around and laughed, "You want to come with me?"

"Well, I've never heard of BMX, but you know how I love to shop. I can buy you a new outfit, or…"

"Bicycle motocross, mom," Emma lifted her helmet, "I'm going for a ride in the woods."

"Oh… what's the bag for?"

"My camera."

"Why are you bringing that out?"

"Mom, if you want to show me you've changed, you've got to stop asking these questions," Emma sighed. "I'll see you tonight. If Gia decides she's coming out, tell her she knows where to find me."

"But…"

"Bye, mom."

"Bye… Emma," Mrs. Goodall sighed as the door closed before she could finish her breath. She shook her head and then walked to the living room to wake Mrs. Moran gently.

"Gia needs you."

"What time is it?"

"After nine. She says she's not feeling well. She'll only talk to you."

Mrs. Moran nodded her head, threw away the blankets, and got to her feet. She climbed the stairs while Mrs. Goodall started to walk to the kitchen. Then she had a thought. She quietly walked up the stairs and sat just outside Gia's bedroom door. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, she just had no idea what she was expected to do as a mother, and thought maybe this could help her put the pieces together.

Mrs. Moran walked into Gia's room and saw her daughter hiding under the blankets. She sat down beside her.

"How sick are you?"

"Tensou is a robot, mom," Gia pushed down the blankets and stared at her mother, "You know that's not right. For starters, he may be male, but are we really sure. I mean, there's no…"

"Gia, I let him down easy," Mrs. Moran assured her daughter. "Tensou is not the kind of man I'm after."

"So who are you after?"

"No one."

Mrs. Moran got under the blankets with Gia and took her in her arms, "I don't think I'll be dating for a long time."

"But eventually?"

"I don't know, Gia."

"Don't lie to me, mom. I can handle the truth."

"I'm not lying. Gia, I don't know what's going to happen in the future. Maybe one day I'll meet a nice man I like spending time with. Maybe I won't."

"But you want to. Dad's gone, you're lonely…"

"Don't worry about me, Gia. Besides, I'm not lonely. I've got you, don't I?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Look at my hand, Gia, what do you see?"

"Rings," Gia sighed. Her mother nodded.

"My wedding ring and my engagement ring. Both of these rings symbolize my commitment to my husband, your father. They aren't moving any time soon."

"But eventually…"

"I don't know what's going to happen," Mrs. Moran said, "Except…"

"What?"

"No man is ever replacing your father."

"But you just said one day you might…"

"No man will ever be good enough to take your father's place in my heart or in this family. It doesn't matter if I start dating Tensou or an actual human male. Joe Moran, your father, will always be my husband. That's never changing."

"So… you and Tensou…"

"Just friends."

"Who play Scrabble?"

"He's better than your father was," Mrs. Moran laughed. "I had to play against someone someday."

"No, you didn't."

"Gia, we're going to have a lot of firsts," Mrs. Moran squeezed her daughter gently, "That doesn't mean we're forgetting him. I know I'm never going to forget him."

She kissed the side of her daughter's head, "Get out of bed. Come have breakfast with me."

"I need to use the bathroom first," Gia said. She crawled out of bed and hurried down the hall. Mrs. Moran followed her out of the room. She turned to the stairs but stopped when she saw Mrs. Goodall.

"Learn anything?"

"How did you do that?" she asked, completely baffled by what she had heard. "You never even asked her what was wrong. She just… opened up to you. For as long as I've known Gia, she's never opened up to anyone but Emma."

"A lot's happened to us," Mrs. Moran said.

"I can't get my daughter to say hello," Mrs. Goodall sighed. "I know I deserved it. I know I'm lucky she's letting me stay here. I don't deserve this. I just…"

"Try showing an interest in the things she likes."

"I did. Just downstairs, I offered to go… out with her."

"I heard a little bit. You thought BMX was a store and then asked why she was taking a camera with her. How's she supposed to react when her mother had no idea what her passions are?"

"How do you take pictures while riding a bike, by the way?"

"A better question," Mrs. Moran said, "Hello, Emma, how was your ride? Did you take any interesting pictures today?"

"That's supposed to get my daughter talking to me?"

"Let's try it on Gia, shall we?" Mrs. Moran asked as she heard the tap going in the bathroom. When the door opened she smiled at her daughter, "You know, Gia, I was thinking, why don't we go out for breakfast?"

"Where?"

"Brainfreeze… right? It's where you and your friends are always hanging out."

"Yeah. You want to go there? For breakfast? Mom, that's an ice-cream place. The most you can get for breakfast is… a fruit smoothie."

"Smoothies for breakfast, then," Mrs. Moran smiled. "Get dressed. I'll meet you downstairs in half an hour."

"Sounds good," Gia smiled and then walked back into her room. Mrs. Moran turned around and bowed to Mrs. Goodall.

"Voilà. Show an interest. Get to know who your daughter is, not just what she's doing. You'll be surprised at what you learn if you ask the right questions."

"No offence, Vanessa," Mrs. Goodall said, "You know I've always loved Gia, even if we have butted heads, but she's always been… an ice-queen. She's not like that here. Not anymore."

"Like I said, get to know who your daughter is. Would you like to join us for smoothies?"

"I doubt Gia would like that."

"Emma and her friends are always hanging out at the Brainfreeze," Mrs. Moran said. "This might give you something to talk about. Come along with us."

"Alright. Let me get my wallet. Maybe I'll earn a few brownie points for paying."


End file.
